Although a useful and important tool, the potential of mathematical modelling for decision making is often neglected. Considered an art by many and weird science by some, modelling is not as widely appreciated in problem solving and decision making as perhaps it should be. And although many operations research, management science, and optimization books touch on modelling techniques, the short shrift they usually get in coverage is reflected in their minimal application to problems in the real world. Illustrating the important influence of modelling on the decision making process, Optimization Modelling: A Practical Approach helps you come to grips with a wide range of modelling techniques. Highlighting the modelling aspects of optimization problems, the authors present the techniques in a clear and straightforward manner, illustrated by examples. They provide and analyze the formulation and modelling of a number of well-known theoretical and practical problems and touch on solution approaches. The book demonstrates the use of optimization packages through the solution of various mathematical models and provides an interpretation of some of those solutions. It presents the practical aspects and difficulties of problem solving and solution implementation and studies a number of practical problems. The book also discusses the use of available software packages in solving optimization models without going into difficult mathematical details and complex solution methodologies. The emphasis on modelling techniques rather than solution algorithms sets this book apart. It is a single source for a wide range of methods, classic theoretical and practical problems, data collection and input preparation, the use of different optimization software, and practical issues of modelling, model solving, and implementation. The authors draw directly from their experience to provide lessons learned when applying modelling techniques to practical problem solving and implementation difficulties.

This volume contains selected papers presented at the Second Asia-Paci c C- ference on Simulated Evolution and Learning (SEAL'98), from 24 to 27 Nov- ber 1998, in Canberra, Australia. SEAL'98 received a total of 92 submissions (67 papers for the regular sessions and 25 for the applications sessions). All papers were reviewed by three independent reviewers. After review, 62 papers were - cepted for oral presentation and 13 for poster presentation. Some of the accepted papers were selected for inclusion in this volume. SEAL'98 also featured a fully refereed special session on Evolutionary Computation in Power Engineering - ganised by Professor Kit Po Wong and Dr Loi Lei Lai. Two of the ve accepted papers are included in this volume. The papers included in these proceedings cover a wide range of topics in simulated evolution and learning, from self-adaptation to dynamic modelling, from reinforcement learning to agent systems, from evolutionary games to e- lutionary economics, and from novel theoretical results to successful applications, among others. SEAL'98 attracted 94 participants from 14 di erent countries, namely A- tralia, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Iceland, India, Japan, South Korea, New Z- land, Portugal, Sweden, Taiwan, UK and the USA. It had three distinguished international scientists as keynote speakers, giving talks on natural computation (Hans-Paul Schwefel), reinforcement learning (Richard Sutton), and novel m- els in evolutionary design (John Gero). More information about SEAL'98 is still available at http: //www.cs.adfa.edu.au/conference/seal98/.